The Blossom
by Sempiternal Light
Summary: He was always there for her. Just like how a friend should be. But does she really love him? Saisaku Gaasaku
1. My Dear Friend

Chapter One: My Dear Friend

"I can't believe you actually did that! I...I HATE YOU!"

There was a pregnant silence that ensued. It was as though everything was in limbo and only a tense atmosphere could be felt.

"She is still a child! How could you do that? What did she ever do to you? You...you...you disgust me."

He could see her emerald eyes flash at him furiously. There was an unfathomable rage within her, and was that a glint of sorrow he saw in her eyes? Her words had pierced his heart unknowingly, and he could feel it ache slightly. His eyes followed her as he felt her last wintry stare at him and shoved past him.

What had he done?

* * *

I never knew that he was so bitter inside. I thought he had that tiny shard of kindness in him, deep down, buried under all that coldness. The same thoughts unfolded in her mind repeatedly.

She felt really exhausted inside. And she could still feel the warm touch of the little girl.

_"Neechan? I would like to see the __rainbow someday. Do you think I can see it one day? Maybe...just maybe a little glimpse? I wouldn't want it to let me draw it. Do you think it'll let me? I really hope so."_

Makino chan. Sakura felt herself murmur. She threaded her way slowly away from the wretched place. It was beginning to drizzle, she realised. The raindrops were gentle, trickling on her just like the gardener so caringly water his seedlings. Just like tears.

Tears, from the heavens.

Then, she too could no longer stand the clawing sadness in her. She began to cry. Her tears slid down her cheeks, onto the ground. The rain grew heavier, but they still felt soft on Sakura's skin. It made her cry much intensely.

Her gait was unsteady but she was determined to get away from the place. That place where he was and where he would always have the authority. She detested him. No, more than that, he was scum to her. He deemed himself as a god, always claiming he had to protect what he held precious. The life of a young girl was not worth his belief. His crooked belief.

Rain had made the pavement wet and slippery. She was oblivious, and began to run. She sprinted as fast as she could, in a speed that she hadn't knew she was capable. It was all her fault. Why hadn't she stopped him?

My fault...my fault…

I...would rather die.

Sakura felt her legs grew weak and jelly-like. They gave way under her. She could feel the rainwater on the ground against her skin now. She was drenched to the core. Drenched from within.

She cried again. For Makino, for the innocent souls, for everything that she had held dear. She dragged herself up with her hands, scraping her elbows against the rough ground. They grew red, as her skin was exposed to the rain, she felt a biting pain.

But she was too hurt to care. For anything, anyone... Sitting up, she gazed into the distance. Rain and mist clouded her view. She could see nothing, feel nothing. Then, the rivulets of tears came again. She hated them, they made her feel weak. She had vowed not to cry anymore. Never again, after Sasuke had left Konoha.

What was she doing now? Trying to dry her tears with her arms, she felt the rain pattering on her, wetting her. Stop, stop, stop! Stop your crying! Enough! Why are you crying? Stop it, you weakling!

A part of her wanted to cease her sniffling, but another wanted to continue. It was a way out, of everything that had happened in the past 3 days. A beast in her was tearing at her sanity.

She yelled with anguish and with sorrow. Clenching her fists so that her knuckles turned white, she pounded the ground beside her. She could feel the sediments cracking and breaking, but she did not stop. She persisted, feeling a bone in her fist fracture and blood flowing from the bruises that were forming on her fist. She stopped when she had not an ounce of strength within.

Then, she felt her limbs weaken and slacken. She wrapped her bloodied arms around her knees and buried her head into her legs. Blood was covering her legs now, and she felt herself growing weak.

"Sakura!"

* * *

She could feel her body dreading to awake. Her muscles in every single part of her body were refusing to operate. She was afraid, terrified of what she would face when she opens her eyes again.

Where was she? A room. She could smell the gentle fragrance of a jasmine flower. It was comforting and she lay there, listening. She could hear a distinct sound of paper against pencil. It seemed to come from her left. The intensity of the pencil against the paper fluctuated now and then.

Summoning her strength, she opened her eyes. So it had been him. She had not been mistaken.

"You're awake." The artist continued with his art piece, unperturbed, with his back facing her.

"Sai?"

Sakura inquired, appalled. It had been four days since their last meeting. Why was he here in Suna?

Sai was solemn. His hands moved across the canvas with perfect strokes. He had pained himself to highlight the sunrise which was peeping across the sandy terrain from the window of the room. With thicker lines, and thinner ones, then a slight shade in certain areas. Sakura did not interrupt him, instead, she allowed him to finish his art.

After an hour, Sai replaced his pencil on the table beside him. He turned his back towards Sakura. The smile that he had always plastered his face with remained on it.

"Good morning, Sakura."

"Good morning."

He gave a wider smile, and proceeded to opening the windows. Instantly, Sakura could feel a dry wind blowing from the deserts. The sun had fully risen now, and Sakura could see its gentle rays shining against the great many windowpanes of the village's houses. There were indistinct cries from the distance, undoubtedly belonging to the children of the village who had arose and were already frolicking about.

The enthusiastic shouts and laughter of the children resembled knives that stabbed Sakura's heart mercilessly. Makino chan...

"It is a beautiful morning, don't you think?"

Sakura managed to revert to her senses just then and replied him with a smile. She felt her eyes travelling to her hand which felt incredibly sore. It had been bandaged thickly and she could not sense her hand at all. Shutting her eyes, she recovered the memory of the events that had taken place the previous night.

"Why...why are you here?"

There was a momentous pause. Sai faced the window, answering with his emotionless voice. "I was on a mission to escort a merchant here from Mizu no kuni. Before I found you, I was on my way back to Konoha."

"I see..."

No one spoke for a while; only the gale could be heard, causing the windchime to begin tinkling. "About your mission..." Sai began, trailing off once he saw the crestfallen look on her countenance.

The awkward silence was broken eventually when a knock on the door issued loud and clear, echoing sharply throughout the room.

"Good morning, Sakura san. The kazekage is here to see you."

"I don't wish to see him." Her reply came, bitterness in every word.

"But..." The nurse sounded unsure, her tone softening.

Sai was taken aback by the situation. What had happen? He gazed at her. He saw how she struck the bedside table with her unbandaged hand and smashed the vase on the table into smithereens. She was livid with rage.

He walked his way towards the door and opened it, coming face to face with a nurse who had a blanched face. Despite her fear, the nurse blushed slightly at Sai being so close to her.

"I'm sorry, but Sakura doesn't wish to see you. You can hear her from here, I presume?" He tried on his best smile towards the red-head, who as usual had betrayed nothing on his face.

"What are you doing here?"

The question came plain as day. Sai realised that he had a bit of a trouble answering it. What was he doing here? "I came to visit my friend." He offered the explanation, seemingly dubious of his own reply. Yet he kept the smile on his face.

Gaara as usual kept his ground and did not give a hint of annoyance on his face. He gestured with his fingers, dismissing the nurse who was gazing at Sai dreamily. Stepping forward, he shoved Sai aside.

"Please respect her wishes." Sai did not succumb to his push, and instead remained rooted to the floor, obstructing his way. Gaara flashed his eyes that were filled with irritancy at him. Sand was beginning to form around Sai's throat.

"I can kill you right now if you don't get lost."

Still unnerved, Sai replied calmly, "I do not think that would be best. After all, you are the kazekage. And people of your status should be much aware of their actions." However, his hand wrapped defensively around his katana, that was behind his back. He had removed the smile on his face, and what greeted Gaara was a pair of wintry black eyes.

Gaara flinched slightly. The sand that was swirling around Sai's neck retreated, and he narrowed his eyes at him. "Why are you here in Suna?"

"On an escort mission." Sai began smiling cheerily again, though his eyes were unmistakably icy.

"You can return to Konoha right away, your mission has ended, I assume?" The young kazekage spoke, his words slow but firm.

Sai nodded his head. "I'm afraid I cannot return now, my friend is in pain. I must give her help. That's what friends are for; I've read that in a book. Though I don't really understand why she's so angered by the sight of you. Her mission..." He trailed off, expecting a reply from Gaara.

"What has happened has nothing to do with you. Now if you don't mind, I've got work to do. I've got no time for people the likes of you." With the last palpable glare, he swaggered off, leaving a cloud of sand behind.

Sai turned and found Sakura lying against the pillow, staring into blank space. She was motionless, and he could not understand the feeling that she was portraying. He had tried so hard to learn. Knitting his brows together, he pondered. What would a friend do in such a situation?

* * *

It had been a day since Sakura's discharge from the hospital. She felt empty inside, and went for a walk around the village. She chanced upon a street where simple stalls were strewn almost every she went. She paced gingerly through the street, her emerald eyes observing everything that was around her.

Her eyes stopped when she saw a bunch of children crowding around an area. Out of curiosity, she approached the place.

"A rabbit, sir! I want to see a rabbit!"

"Me first, me first! I want a carp!"

The children were making various requests. Sakura could hear loud whoops from the children. She craned her neck to see whatever was attracting the children.

An unmistakable head of black hair came into view. Sai? What was he doing here? Sakura looked on as she saw him painting a beautiful rabbit on his scroll. With a positioning of his hands in a seal formation and murmuring a string of words, the rabbit pounced out of the scroll sprightly and began hopping around with much life.

A little girl chuckled with joy and went after the rabbit at once. "Magician! Magician!" The children began chanting happily. Sakura watched as Sai smiled once again.

"I'm not a magician."

Sakura perceived with a shock that his smile was now one that truly emitted sincerity. His fake smile no longer existed. The long hours she had spent trying to instruct him on emotions, smiles and love.

"Sakura?"

Coming to her senses, she waved at him jovially. Sai rolled his scrolls, and turned to the children apologetically.

"Today's programme shall come to an end now. It's time you guys return home."

Sounding dejected, the children groaned in disappointment. However, they dispersed almost immediately, rushing away to look for their parents. Sakura gazed at their running figures.

"It's great that you have been discharged." Sai piped up.

Sakura began walking, stretching her hand before her. "Yes, see, it's all in order now." They continued strolling for a while, and there was no conversation between them. For a while, both just observed the people milling around.

"Do you do that often? With the children, that is."

Sai cocked his head and inquired," The magic show?"

She gave a chuckle, and nodded. Tucking a stray pink hair behind her ear, she watched him closely.

"I've found that they liked it when I perform that ninjutsu. It makes me happy somehow, when they laugh. It is a pretty weird feeling." He frowned.

"That's called kindness. You make their day when you bring the animals to life." Sakura explained.

Kindness. The word swirled his thoughts, causing a warm rush through his heart. It meant a lot to him, that word. He seemed to love the sound of it, and tried murmuring it a few times under his breath.

"Sir, would you buy a flower for your girlfriend?"

A pair of innocent and angelic eyes looked into those of Sai's.

Sakura blushed a deep beetroot red. Sai's poker face did not evolve, however. He squatted down and sorted through the flowers in the basket. He paid immaculate care not to inadvertently wreck the blooming flowers as he chose a stalk of flower. After a few moments, he stood up, with a purple baby's breath in his hand.

"I think I'd have this." He dug into his pockets, pressing a few coins into the tiny hand of the child. "Thank you, sir." With a grateful smile, she ran off hurriedly.

As they continued to walk on, Sai offered the baby's breath to Sakura. "I thought they're really pretty. But I'll probably sit on them if I bring them around. Will you keep it?"

There was a momentous pause, Sakura took a deep intake of breath and clutched the flowers in her hands. The pale purple of the baby's breath attracted her deeply. Sakura could smell a gentle fragrance from the flower. "Thank you."

She knew she was blushing lightly. The baby's breath was extremely pretty and swayed with the light breeze that was blowing.

"Have you had dinner," Sai asked tentatively. He had read in a book somewhere that when asking friend out for dinner, one should take a much subtle approach. He crossed his fingers behind his back. "Would you like to erm..."

Sakura gazed at him with her emerald eyes, baffled. "Have dinner?" There was another awkward silence. Sai nodded his head in a discomfited fashion. "I guess the ramen shop would be fine," offered Sakura, hurriedly walking in the direction of the shop.

What was wrong with her? She felt so uncomfortable in front of him, a friend. A friend whom she had not seen for a long while. It felt somewhat strange to see him again. He had changed so vastly that it made her querulous. Sakura turned her glance at Sai again.

He was looking around in a dazed sort of fashion. His eyes glittered whenever the light from the decorative lights reflected onto them. Sakura noticed this and stared at him gapingly. He had done something to his hair, she realised. He had had it cut in another fashion.

"Is there anything on my face?" Sai asked curiously with an unwavering smile on his face.

Sakura's face flushed red in embarrassment and she shook her head immediately. "N-Noo! Of course not!" She laughed in spite of herself. What in heaven's name was she doing here? Stay calm, relax, Sakura! He is merely a friend, nothing more, nothing less.

A friend.

Nothing more, nothing less.

* * *

It had been a whole day since Sakura had had a proper meal and she enjoyed the ramen tremendously. Although there was this throbbing pain in her heart, as though she had lost a little shard of her heart, she felt grateful for the presence of Sai. Simply having a friend there was enough.

The night air was relatively chilly. Sai had offered to walk Sakura home. An action that Sakura felt was unusually weird, as the Sai she knew never had the decency to even do that. Yet here she was, walking on his right.

She gazed up at the stars above. There were aplenty of stars scattered across the dark sky. They resembled minute glass shards that were tossed onto the ground, with the bright rays of the Sun reflecting off them.

"About your mission..." Sai begun, his voice leaden with curiosity.

Sakura stopped in her tracks. The sound of cicadas filled the air, as though trying to make up for the emptiness in her heart. "Sai, I-I don't want to talk about it just yet. Not till I return to Konoha."

Sai nodded his head understandingly. Her eyes were hauntingly sorrowful. It hurt to see her this way. This was something Sai could not understand. What did they call this? Sai wrecked his mind in search of a word for this.

Sakura gave a faint smile as they reached her apartment. "Sorry." She murmured but quickly piped up. "Well, this is the place. It's pretty small, nothing compared to what we have at home, but I get by. I was wondering, Sai-"

Before she had a chance to end her sentence, she felt a pair of lips pressing against hers softly. She widened her eyes in shock. Sai's face came into full view. Sakura was flabbergasted and did not know how to react.

She was kissing Sai.

What in the world?

"I'll see you tomorrow!" With that, he was off into the night.

She had kissed Sai. Sakura felt the aftermath of the whole thing profoundly. That was her first kiss! What had he done? SAI!! She felt like walloping him.

What did he think he was doing? She thought in anger and in shock. He must have read that in some dumb book again. The taste of him was still lingering on her lips. Sakura went red in the face as she thought of his face yet again.

She would not admit it, but she liked it.

That night, there was one soul burning with jealousy and rage. He was standing on the roof of one of the houses, witnessing the kiss. He had wanted to apologise to her. But that bastard had to enter and wreck everything. Gaara stood there so quietly but there was a storm raging within him. The only thing on his mind was his enviousness of that boy.

What was his name again?

Oh yes.

Sai.

* * *


	2. Planetarium

Chapter 2: Planetarium

It had been impossible for Sakura to sleep that night. She tossed and turned in her bed uneasily. As she thought of his face, her face felt uncomfortably hot. Curling herself up, she tried her best to rid herself of his face. His pale face that had been illuminated by the moonlight kept appearing relentlessly in her thoughts and she was having a hard time trying to erase it.

She had kissed Sai.

What had he been thinking? Sakura smiled in spite herself. She tucked a single strand of her pink hair behind her ear and stared into the night sky outside of the window. The sky was a beautiful mix of violet and orange. There were many little white swirls in the sky and they seemed to be concealed by the astonishing blend of colours that erupted in the sky to celebrate the new dawn.

Sakura clambered out of her bed and opened the windows. The morning air that drifted in was exceptionally fresh. The air in Suna was always stifling and musty. Having such beautiful air was a great change. Then, she felt her fingers brush against something soft.

The baby's breath lay on the table still as gentle as ever. Picking up the tender buds of the flower, Sakura placed it into her pouch. The events from yesterday came flooding back and she found herself blushing lightly.

As she finished packing, she felt the solemn sensation rushing back towards her all at once. Her mission... She had completely failed. She had failed to protect her.

It was so very insignificant to him. Everything was.

Where was his heart? This unanswered question spun in her mind a million times ever since that incident.

"Good Morning." A voice came from the windows like a bolt from the blue.

Sakura jolted in surprise. She spotted Sai sitting on the window ledge, smiling at her warmly. Sakura flushed a light red when she saw the boy simply leaning against the ledge casually. "S-Sai, you startled me." She chose her words carefully, feeling the uneasiness of it all. This was not what she expected, especially not in the wee hours of the morning.

"I thought you'd need some help packing. I guess not, huh, "He began and frowned." You have a pretty spacious room. All I got was a puny apartment. Well, it seems that I've annoyed some bigwig around here."

Sakura sniggered. Trust Sai to come up with something in an instant that does not even suit the occasion. She walked over to the ledge where Sai was so as to clear up the magazines she had strewn all over the table.

There was a horrible sound of something cracking and not long; Sai was sailing backwards in the air towards the ground below. In shock, Sakura yanked him up with all her might. Sai fell onto her in an awkward position.

Sakura lay on the floor, unable to breathe at all. She was very much flabbergasted. Her face was a deep crimson red by now and she felt her heart pounding rapidly. She could feel his face uncomfortably close to her and his hot breath on her cheeks.

She could see a tiny blush creeping up his face. They stayed in that position perfectly still. It was as though everything was in limbo. Immediately, Sai got back on his feet and turned his face towards the windows, away from her. There was a mere tinge of embarrassment in his heart. He had never felt such a sensation and he was rather confused by it. What was his response supposed to be now?

"I-I…" Sakura stuttered. "Would you like some coffee?" That was all she could say.

Sai rubbed the back of his neck and nodded in agreement. He was relieved that there was not going to be any mention of the incident. Drumming his fingers on the table, he gazed out of the windows in attempt to mask his unease.

"Sa-sakura," started Sai. He paused, and pondered for a while. "Thanks for helping me."

With a weak grin, Sakura nodded her head. Her hands were quavering and she had a hard time placing the coffee powder in the cups.

"We are supposed to leave for Konoha now, right?" She passed a steaming mug of coffee into Sai's hands and sat onto the sofa in the empty room.

"Hn." Sai made a muffled sound of assent as he sipped the coffee.

Sakura gazed at the propitious sky that was marbled with pearly white clouds. "Could we leave at four instead? I-I have something important that I need to do."

Baffled, Sai stared at Sakura's face intently. There was a deep sorrow lurking in the depths of her eyes. Gently replacing the coffee mug on the table, he replied with a reassuring smile, "I'll accompany you then."

There was a little breeze that ran through their hair like a swift serpent. It was a forsaken place, just like how all cemeteries were. There was a decrepit tree that was contorted in an extremely odd way.

A lone gravestone that was obviously recently enacted had the following carved on it:

Touya Makino

09.12.2009

Rest In Peace

The words revealed so very little, Sakura thought, her heart sinking. Makino...the little angel.

She felt a few tears forming that softened her seared vision. A haunting and horrible sense of guilt deepened within her. The thoughts then ran into tears like sunshine into rain.

"Sa-sakura. Could you-" Sai inquired as gently as possible.

Sakura nodded her head gradually. With her head positioned into the sky that was growing ominous, Sakura began.

"My mission, as you know, was to enter Suna as a medical nin and research the recent illness that had pervaded this family. This was a direct order from Tsunade and although I was not required to treat the patients, I intended to do that right from the start."

She paused, her eyes diverted onto the ground. "This illness was highly contagious. It seemed to be a mutated version of a viral infection that caused the death of a whole entire village in a month after the great war. I was determined to create a cure for it. To save them. To give them hope again."

"After 2 weeks, I was still unable to obtain the cure. By then, the mother had passed away due to the respiratory problems caused by the virus. I-I felt so helpless then. I was trying so very hard...it didn't work..." Her shoulders shook and she placed a single hand on the gravestone that was before her.

"There were other officials involved then. Some of them were afraid of the devastation that the virus might cause if it were to infect people. They reported that to him." Sakura's voice stiffened. "In his words, he released them from their burden."

"I never saw her again. She was just a girl. Someone's daughter. She had such a pure heart to the end. She had told me that she wanted to see the rainbow. I couldn't help her… I'm still so useless right till now…They were right, I always had to be saved by someone…"

Sakura knelt onto the ground, allowing the soundless breeze to caress her. "I'm sorry." Sai squatted down beside her, totally at a loss of what to do. He lifted his hand and placed it on her shoulders. It was terribly antagonizing to see her this way.

Sakura's shoulders shook as sounds of her crying could be heard in the alley. She was weeping inconsolably. Her tears wet the ground. They formed tiny iridescent puddles that shone under the afternoon sun.

He stayed by her side all that while, hoping to offer her a teensy bit of comfort. She had been the very first girl of his age that he had spoken to face to face. It had been normal then, there were no exceptional feelings that splayed in his heart. Why was it that, when he saw her now, this girl who was crying so desolately, he felt an acute pain in his heart? It felt like tiny needles being used to prick his heart. They were indistinct but nevertheless existent.

"Sa-sakura, could you-" He swallowed, and murmured in an awkward fashion.

She threw her arms around him and began sobbing on his shoulders. Sai's eyes widened in shock and he could only remain in that position. This was his first embrace.

He felt her body pressing against his, he could feel her every shudder. Tilting his head slightly, he found himself looking into a bright pink. Her hair smelt of strawberries. He realized that it was the very first time he noticed such details.

It felt weird. He had to admit, being embraced in such an unusual way. It was a little while before she finally released her grip on him.

"Th-thank you." Her voice quivered and it seemed like mournful bells crying on the wind. "I-I need t-to go to the washroom. Can't have myself looking like that when I reach Konoha, can I? S-So, I'll meet you at the village entrance."

Wiping her tears away, Sakura laughed lightly. "I don't know what's wrong with me either. Shinobis...are not supposed to be emotionally attached, ri-right?"

She tottered her way out of the alley in a shaky sort of manner. Sai stood at the exact spot gazing at her silhouette as it vanished out of sight from his view. He could feel a profound sadness in her. Yet, he could do nothing. It was as though she was right in front of him yet they were separated by this thin film.

--

"Naruto would love this, wouldn't he?" Sakura pressed her face against the shop window of the confectionery shop. She had decided to explore the town for a while just so as to while away time. "Wouldn't he?" Sakura asked once again, rather annoyed that she had not gotten an answer.

"Yeah, I suppose." Sai answered. He was utterly exhausted after accompanying Sakura for a whole day. It was as though she was drowning herself in shopping.

Suddenly, the streets were filled with shrill female shrieks that nearly deafened the both of them. Sakura whirled around and saw Gaara right behind them. There was an entire crowd of girls around him. They were gaping at him admiringly and whispering happily among themselves.

Their eyes met but Sakura, without a single greeting, turned to face the shop once more.

"I think I'd buy this for Naruto. It totally suits him, right, Sai?" Sakura continued, trying her best to sound normal.

"I would like to speak to you." The voice danced along Sakura's ears and she ignored him totally.

"I think this'll do fine." Sakura rummaged through her pouch.

"I said, I want to talk to speak to you." Gaara spoke once again, his voice hardening.

Sakura, totally oblivious, made her way to the door of the shop. She felt a sharp pain as Gaara held her hand in a vice like grip. "Stop ignoring me."

"Let go. You're hurting me." She muttered, struggling in his grip. Her eyes were slightly wet, and she could feel herself giving way slightly.

"Please respect her wishes, Kazekage sama." Sai, who had been silent for the whole while, spoke up coldly. He touched Gaara on his shoulders. Flinching, Gaara glared at Sai with eyes that literally blazed with savage fire.

"Get your hand of me." He snarled.

"I will do so if you let go off her." There was a restrained fury in his voice. He was baffled at the intensity of his voice.

"None of this is your business. You have completed your mission, I presume, get out of here."

"Let go of her." Sai narrowed his eyes furiously.

Without warning, there was a loud thud as Sai was sent sprawling onto the ground by an enormous wave of sand. He picked himself gingerly, and forced his steps one by one towards Gaara.

"Ninpo. Chouju giga."

In a flash, Gaara had released his grip on Sakura and found himself face to face with a load of ink animals. He dodged the attacks impeccably and brought his sand upon them as easy as crushing minute insects.

By the time he turned his back, they were gone.

--

"I don't get it. Why the heck are we rushing again?" Sakura shouted against the stinging wind. The torn and tumultuous sky showed no mercy and wrapped the two in scudding rain.

"So that he won't accost you again. You could get Tsunade sama to convey the report to him." His reply was as concise as ever.

Sakura fell silent and continued to follow him blindly. She felt weak all over. Her muscles hurt with every leap she made. The curtains of opaque rain blurred her vision and she had a hard time navigating. It was unbelievable that Sai could actually move in such an accurate manner.

The rain had made the branches increasingly slippery. It happened unexpectedly quickly, she felt an acute pain in her head. Clenching her fists in pain, she lost focus and slipped backwards, cracking her forehead against the broad tree trunk that was right behind her.

"Sakura!"

Then, there was a darkness.With a graceful leap, Sai caught Sakura in his arms and landed on the ground steadily. He gazed at her. She had lost consciousness. Feeling her forehead, he realized that she was running a temperature. That was not good. The fever might deteriorate in such a horrendously frigid temperature.Why the hell did she have to get sick at this crucial time? It was still a little way from Konoha, probably around 15minutes. But fifteen minutes would be an awfully long time if he had to carry her all the way. It would catastrophic if he too were to get himself lost or lost his footing. Sai pondered for an alternative desperately.Or he could wait till the morning. But Sakura's fever might have worsened by a whole lot if he were to do that.Cursing under his breath, Sai carried Sakura on his back, dashing through the sheets of lashing rain.Fifteen minutes it was.

* * *

"Why's Sakura in such a fix?" Naruto asked curiously, gobbling down his second helping of ramen. Sai was slumped against the table and replied exhaustingly. "She must have came down with a fever."

"What the hell were you guys thinking, rushing in the rain?" A drawling voice came from the right of Sai. "It's not like Sakura at all."

"We met the Kazekage. Then we ran."

"Huh? What sort of an answer is that?" Shikamaru raised his eyebrow questioningly.

"It was something to do with her mission. I can't tell you guys, she didn't say she wanted you guys to know." Sai muttered something incoherent and reached into his pouch. Placing a book on the table, he asked exuberantly.

"I bought this in Suna." The book was glossily wrapped and the words "The Way of Improving Social Relations" printed on it.

"You've got to be kidding, another dumb book? Did you try anything that it suggested again?" Naruto rolled his eyes and took a huge slurp from his bowl.

Sai grinned and flipped to a page. He pointed to a paragraph, gesturing Shikamaru who had been frowning at him all this while to read it.

"To further intimate relations with female counterparts, a kiss is often used- What the, you-you kissed someone?!" Shikamaru looked at Sai incredulously. "Who the heck was it? Oh good heavens, don't tell me...you-you…"

"Sakura." Sai gave his unfaltering smile.

There was a tremendous uproar. Naruto choked on his ramen and Shikamaru backed away from Sai, smacking into Kiba who had just entered the shop.

"You kissed Sakura?" Shikamaru shouted in shock. He was having a hard time taking in everything.

"What?" Kiba yelled, reeling from his shock.

Sai was taken aback by their reactions. "I thought it was perfectly fine. The book suggested that. I merely listened to its suggestions..."

"BOOK? You kissed a girl because of a lame book?"

"Sai, you're hopelessly dead man, I think that was her first kiss."

"How did it feel?"

The questions came barraging in. Sai felt uncertain.

What did a kiss really mean?

* * *


End file.
